METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING CAPABILITY INFORMATION OF RECEIVING STA IN WIRELESS LAN SYSTEM

- LG Electronics

The present disclosure proposes a method and apparatus for transmitting capability information of a receiving STA in a wireless LAN system. Specifically, a receiving STA generates capability information of the receiving STA and transmits same to a transmitting STA. The capability information of the receiving STA comprises an HE Capabilities element and an EHT Capabilities element. The HE Capabilities element comprises a Supported Channel Width Set field. The EHT Capabilities element comprises a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field. The Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field comprises first to fourth subfields. The first subfield comprises information regarding a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS, when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA that operates only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is the National Stage filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/007594, filed on May 27, 2022, which claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No. 10-2021-0080227, filed on Jun. 21, 2021, the contents of which are all incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present specification relates to a technique for transmitting capability information of a receiving STA in a wireless LAN system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting information on the maximum number of spatial streams for each MCS according to the channel and band in which the receiving STA operates.

BACKGROUND

A wireless local area network (WLAN) has been improved in various ways. For example, the IEEE 802.11ax standard proposed an improved communication environment using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and downlink multi-user multiple input multiple output (DL MU MIMO) techniques.

The present specification proposes a technical feature that can be utilized in a new communication standard. For example, the new communication standard may be an extreme high throughput (EHT) standard which is currently being discussed. The EHT standard may use an increased bandwidth, an enhanced PHY layer protocol data unit (PPDU) structure, an enhanced sequence, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheme, or the like, which is newly proposed. The EHT standard may be called the IEEE 802.11be standard.

In a new WLAN standard, an increased number of spatial streams may be used. In this case, in order to properly use the increased number of spatial streams, a signaling technique in the WLAN system may need to be improved.

SUMMARY

The present specification proposes a method and apparatus for transmitting capability information of a receiving STA in a wireless LAN system.

An example of the present specification proposes a method for transmitting capability information of a receiving STA.

The present embodiment may be performed in a network environment in which a next generation WLAN system (IEEE 802.11be or EHT WLAN system) is supported. The next generation wireless LAN system is a WLAN system that is enhanced from an 802.11ax system and may, therefore, satisfy backward compatibility with the 802.11ax system.

This embodiment is performed in a receiving STA, and the receiving STA may correspond to a non-access point (non-AP) STA. A transmitting STA may correspond to an access point (AP) STA.

This embodiment proposes a signaling method that includes the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS in Capability information according to a bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates and a transmission bandwidth for transmitting a PPDU.

A receiving station (STA) generates capability information of the receiving STA.

The receiving STA transmits the capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA.

The capability information of the receiving STA includes a High Efficiency (HE) Capabilities element and an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capabilities element.

The HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field. The EHT Capabilities element includes a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) And NSS (Number of Spatial Stream) Set field.

The Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes first to fourth subfields. The first subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, the second subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, the third subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) subfield, and the fourth subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfield.

The first subfield includes information on a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits (B1, B2, B3) of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0. The first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the first transmission bandwidth may correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in a 2.4 GHz band, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits (B1, B2, B3) of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0. The first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

That is, the receiving STA can transmit the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS to the transmitting STA through the first subfield depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 20 MHz only) regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth (If the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, it can only support a transmission bandwidth of up to 40 MHz).

The second subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 80 MHz or less rather than a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a second transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the second bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHZ subfield is set to 0. The second transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHZ, 80 MHZ, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the second transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1. The second transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, a bandwidth of 80 MHz or less), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the second subfield (If the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, it can only support a transmission bandwidth of up to 40 MHz).

The third subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 160 MHz and is allocated to a third transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the third subfield is present when the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1 and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0. The third transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the third transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 160 MHZ), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the third subfield (the 2.4 GHz band does not support operating channels of 160 MHz or higher).

The fourth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 320 MHz and is allocated to a fourth transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the fourth subfield is present when the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 1. The fourth transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the fourth transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 320 MHZ), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the fourth subfield.

According to the embodiment proposed in this specification, regardless of the transmission bandwidth, information on the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS that can be supported according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates can be signaled by including it in the Capability information. In particular, by specifying the operating bandwidth of the STA, the maximum number of spatial streams can be simply indicated, which has the effect of lowering overhead and improving overall throughput.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a transmitting apparatus and/or receiving apparatus of the present specification.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual view illustrating the structure of a wireless local area network (WLAN).

FIG. 3 illustrates a general link setup process.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a PPDU used in an IEEE standard.

FIG. 5 illustrates a layout of resource units (RUs) used in a band of 20 MHz.

FIG. 6 illustrates a layout of RUs used in a band of 40 MHz.

FIG. 7 illustrates a layout of RUs used in a band of 80 MHz.

FIG. 8 illustrates a structure of an HE-SIG-B field.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example in which a plurality of user STAs are allocated to the same RU through a MU-MIMO scheme.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a PPDU used in the present specification.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a modified transmission device and/or receiving device of the present specification.

FIG. 12 shows the format of the EHT Capabilities element.

FIG. 13 shows the format of the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field.

FIG. 14 is the format of the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield.

FIG. 15 is the format of the EHT-MCS Map (BW≤80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz), and EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfields.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the transmitting apparatus/device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the receiving apparatus/device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure in which a transmitting STA receives capability information of a receiving STA according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure in which a receiving STA transmits capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA according to the present embodiment.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present specification, “A or B” may mean “only A”, “only B” or “both A and B”. In other words, in the present specification, “A or B” may be interpreted as “A and/or B”. For example, in the present specification, “A, B, or C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, C”.

A slash (/) or comma used in the present specification may mean “and/or”. For example, “A/B” may mean “A and/or B”. Accordingly, “A/B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. For example, “A, B, C” may mean “A, B, or C”.

In the present specification, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. In addition, in the present specification, the expression “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of A and/or B” may be interpreted as “at least one of A and B”.

In addition, in the present specification, “at least one of A, B, and C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, and C”. In addition, “at least one of A, B, or C” or “at least one of A, B, and/or C” may mean “at least one of A, B, and C”.

In addition, a parenthesis used in the present specification may mean “for example”. Specifically, when indicated as “control information (EHT-signal)”, it may denote that “EHT-signal” is proposed as an example of the “control information”. In other words, the “control information” of the present specification is not limited to “EHT-signal”, and “EHT-signal” may be proposed as an example of the “control information”. In addition, when indicated as “control information (i.e., EHT-signal)”, it may also mean that “EHT-signal” is proposed as an example of the “control information”.

Technical features described individually in one figure in the present specification may be individually implemented, or may be simultaneously implemented.

The following example of the present specification may be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, the following example of the present specification may be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) system. For example, the present specification may be applied to the IEEE 802.11a/g/n/ac standard or the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In addition, the present specification may also be applied to the newly proposed EHT standard or IEEE 802.11be standard. In addition, the example of the present specification may also be applied to a new WLAN standard enhanced from the EHT standard or the IEEE 802.11be standard. In addition, the example of the present specification may be applied to a mobile communication system. For example, it may be applied to a mobile communication system based on long term evolution (LTE) depending on a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standard and based on evolution of the LTE. In addition, the example of the present specification may be applied to a communication system of a 5G NR standard based on the 3GPP standard.

Hereinafter, in order to describe a technical feature of the present specification, a technical feature applicable to the present specification will be described.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a transmitting apparatus and/or receiving apparatus of the present specification.

In the example of FIG. 1, various technical features described below may be performed. FIG. 1 relates to at least one station (STA). For example, STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification may also be called in various terms such as a mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile subscriber unit, or simply a user. The STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification may also be called in various terms such as a network, a base station, a node-B, an access point (AP), a repeater, a router, a relay, or the like. The STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification may also be referred to as various names such as a receiving apparatus, a transmitting apparatus, a receiving STA, a transmitting STA, a receiving device, a transmitting device, or the like.

For example, the STAs 110 and 120 may serve as an AP or a non-AP. That is, the STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification may serve as the AP and/or the non-AP.

The STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification may support various communication standards together in addition to the IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, a communication standard (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR standard) or the like based on the 3GPP standard may be supported. In addition, the STA of the present specification may be implemented as various devices such as a mobile phone, a vehicle, a personal computer, or the like. In addition, the STA of the present specification may support communication for various communication services such as voice calls, video calls, data communication, and self-driving (autonomous-driving), or the like.

The STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification may include a medium access control (MAC) conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard and a physical layer interface for a radio medium.

The STAs 110 and 120 will be described below with reference to a sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1.

The first STA 110 may include a processor 111, a memory 112, and a transceiver 113. The illustrated process, memory, and transceiver may be implemented individually as separate chips, or at least two blocks/functions may be implemented through a single chip.

The transceiver 113 of the first STA performs a signal transmission/reception operation. Specifically, an IEEE 802.11 packet (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, etc.) may be transmitted/received.

For example, the first STA 110 may perform an operation intended by an AP. For example, the processor 111 of the AP may receive a signal through the transceiver 113, process a reception (RX) signal, generate a transmission (TX) signal, and provide control for signal transmission. The memory 112 of the AP may store a signal (e.g., RX signal) received through the transceiver 113, and may store a signal (e.g., TX signal) to be transmitted through the transceiver.

For example, the second STA 120 may perform an operation intended by a non-AP STA. For example, a transceiver 123 of a non-AP performs a signal transmission/reception operation. Specifically, an IEEE 802.11 packet (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be packet, etc.) may be transmitted/received.

For example, a processor 121 of the non-AP STA may receive a signal through the transceiver 123, process an RX signal, generate a TX signal, and provide control for signal transmission. A memory 122 of the non-AP STA may store a signal (e.g., RX signal) received through the transceiver 123, and may store a signal (e.g., TX signal) to be transmitted through the transceiver.

For example, an operation of a device indicated as an AP in the specification described below may be performed in the first STA 110 or the second STA 120. For example, if the first STA 110 is the AP, the operation of the device indicated as the AP may be controlled by the processor 111 of the first STA 110, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver 113 controlled by the processor 111 of the first STA 110. In addition, control information related to the operation of the AP or a TX/RX signal of the AP may be stored in the memory 112 of the first STA 110. In addition, if the second STA 120 is the AP, the operation of the device indicated as the AP may be controlled by the processor 121 of the second STA 120, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver 123 controlled by the processor 121 of the second STA 120. In addition, control information related to the operation of the AP or a TX/RX signal of the AP may be stored in the memory 122 of the second STA 120.

For example, in the specification described below, an operation of a device indicated as a non-AP (or user-STA) may be performed in the first STA 110 or the second STA 120. For example, if the second STA 120 is the non-AP, the operation of the device indicated as the non-AP may be controlled by the processor 121 of the second STA 120, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver 123 controlled by the processor 121 of the second STA 120. In addition, control information related to the operation of the non-AP or a TX/RX signal of the non-AP may be stored in the memory 122 of the second STA 120. For example, if the first STA 110 is the non-AP, the operation of the device indicated as the non-AP may be controlled by the processor 111 of the first STA 110, and a related signal may be transmitted or received through the transceiver 113 controlled by the processor 111 of the first STA 110. In addition, control information related to the operation of the non-AP or a TX/RX signal of the non-AP may be stored in the memory 112 of the first STA 110.

In the specification described below, a device called a (transmitting/receiving) STA, a first STA, a second STA, a STA1, a STA2, an AP, a first AP, a second AP, an AP1, an AP2, a (transmitting/receiving) terminal, a (transmitting/receiving) device, a (transmitting/receiving) apparatus, a network, or the like may imply the STAs 110 and 120 of FIG. 1. For example, a device indicated as, without a specific reference numeral, the (transmitting/receiving) STA, the first STA, the second STA, the STA1, the STA2, the AP, the first AP, the second AP, the AP1, the AP2, the (transmitting/receiving) terminal, the (transmitting/receiving) device, the (transmitting/receiving) apparatus, the network, or the like may imply the STAs 110 and 120 of FIG. 1. For example, in the following example, an operation in which various STAs transmit/receive a signal (e.g., a PPDU) may be performed in the transceivers 113 and 123 of FIG. 1. In addition, in the following example, an operation in which various STAs generate a TX/RX signal or perform data processing and computation in advance for the TX/RX signal may be performed in the processors 111 and 121 of FIG. 1. For example, an example of an operation for generating the TX/RX signal or performing the data processing and computation in advance may include: 1) an operation of determining/obtaining/configuring/computing/decoding/encoding bit information of a sub-field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data) included in a PPDU: 2) an operation of determining/configuring/obtaining a time resource or frequency resource (e.g., a subcarrier resource) or the like used for the sub-field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data) included the PPDU: 3) an operation of determining/configuring/obtaining a specific sequence (e.g., a pilot sequence, an STF/LTF sequence, an extra sequence applied to SIG) or the like used for the sub-field (SIG, STF, LTF, Data) field included in the PPDU: 4) a power control operation and/or power saving operation applied for the STA: and 5) an operation related to determining/obtaining/configuring/decoding/encoding or the like of an ACK signal. In addition, in the following example, a variety of information used by various STAs for determining/obtaining/configuring/computing/decoding/decoding a TX/RX signal (e.g., information related to a field/subfield/control field/parameter/power or the like) may be stored in the memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1.

The aforementioned device/STA of the sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1 may be modified as shown in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1. Hereinafter, the STAs 110 and 120 of the present specification will be described based on the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1.

For example, the transceivers 113 and 123 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1 may perform the same function as the aforementioned transceiver illustrated in the sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1. For example, processing chips 114 and 124 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1 may include the processors 111 and 121 and the memories 112 and 122. The processors 111 and 121 and memories 112 and 122 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1 may perform the same function as the aforementioned processors 111 and 121 and memories 112 and 122 illustrated in the sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1.

A mobile terminal, a wireless device, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile subscriber unit, a user, a user STA, a network, a base station, a Node-B, an access point (AP), a repeater, a router, a relay, a receiving unit, a transmitting unit, a receiving STA, a transmitting STA, a receiving device, a transmitting device, a receiving apparatus, and/or a transmitting apparatus, which are described below, may imply the STAs 110 and 120 illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) of FIG. 1, or may imply the processing chips 114 and 124 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1. That is, a technical feature of the present specification may be performed in the STAs 110 and 120 illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) of FIG. 1, or may be performed only in the processing chips 114 and 124 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1. For example, a technical feature in which the transmitting STA transmits a control signal may be understood as a technical feature in which a control signal generated in the processors 111 and 121 illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) of FIG. 1 is transmitted through the transceivers 113 and 123 illustrated in the sub-figure (a)/(b) of FIG. 1. Alternatively, the technical feature in which the transmitting STA transmits the control signal may be understood as a technical feature in which the control signal to be transferred to the transceivers 113 and 123 is generated in the processing chips 114 and 124 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1.

For example, a technical feature in which the receiving STA receives the control signal may be understood as a technical feature in which the control signal is received by means of the transceivers 113 and 123 illustrated in the sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1. Alternatively, the technical feature in which the receiving STA receives the control signal may be understood as the technical feature in which the control signal received in the transceivers 113 and 123 illustrated in the sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1 is obtained by the processors 111 and 121 illustrated in the sub-figure (a) of FIG. 1. Alternatively, the technical feature in which the receiving STA receives the control signal may be understood as the technical feature in which the control signal received in the transceivers 113 and 123 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1 is obtained by the processing chips 114 and 124 illustrated in the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1.

Referring to the sub-figure (b) of FIG. 1, software codes 115 and 125 may be included in the memories 112 and 122. The software codes 115 and 126 may include instructions for controlling an operation of the processors 111 and 121. The software codes 115 and 125 may be included as various programming languages.

The processors 111 and 121 or processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, a logic circuit and/or a data processing device. The processor may be an application processor (AP). For example, the processors 111 and 121 or processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1 may include at least one of a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a modulator and demodulator (modem). For example, the processors 111 and 121 or processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1 may be SNAPDRAGON™ series of processors made by Qualcomm®, EXYNOS™ series of processors made by Samsung®, A series of processors made by Apple®, HELIO™ series of processors made by MediaTek®, ATOM™ series of processors made by Intel® or processors enhanced from these processors.

In the present specification, an uplink may imply a link for communication from a non-AP STA to an SP STA, and an uplink PPDU/packet/signal or the like may be transmitted through the uplink. In addition, in the present specification, a downlink may imply a link for communication from the AP STA to the non-AP STA, and a downlink PPDU/packet/signal or the like may be transmitted through the downlink.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual view illustrating the structure of a wireless local area network (WLAN).

An upper part of FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of an infrastructure basic service set (BSS) of institute of electrical and electronic engineers (IEEE) 802.11.

Referring the upper part of FIG. 2, the wireless LAN system may include one or more infrastructure BSSs 200 and 205 (hereinafter, referred to as BSS). The BSSs 200 and 205 as a set of an AP and a STA such as an access point (AP) 225 and a station (STA1) 200-1 which are successfully synchronized to communicate with each other are not concepts indicating a specific region. The BSS 205 may include one or more STAs 205-1 and 205-2 which may be joined to one AP 230.

The BSS may include at least one STA, APs providing a distribution service, and a distribution system (DS) 210 connecting multiple APs.

The distribution system 210 may implement an extended service set (ESS) 240 extended by connecting the multiple BSSs 200 and 205. The ESS 240 may be used as a term indicating one network configured by connecting one or more APs 225 or 230 through the distribution system 210. The AP included in one ESS 240 may have the same service set identification (SSID).

A portal 220 may serve as a bridge which connects the wireless LAN network (IEEE 802.11) and another network (e.g., 802.X).

In the BSS illustrated in the upper part of FIG. 2, a network between the APs 225 and 230 and a network between the APs 225 and 230 and the STAs 200-1, 205-1, and 205-2 may be implemented. However, the network is configured even between the STAs without the APs 225 and 230 to perform communication. A network in which the communication is performed by configuring the network even between the STAs without the APs 225 and 230 is defined as an Ad-Hoc network or an independent basic service set (IBSS).

A lower part of FIG. 2 illustrates a conceptual view illustrating the IBSS.

Referring to the lower part of FIG. 2, the IBSS is a BSS that operates in an Ad-Hoc mode. Since the IBSS does not include the access point (AP), a centralized management entity that performs a management function at the center does not exist. That is, in the IBSS, STAs 250-1, 250-2, 250-3, 255-4, and 255-5 are managed by a distributed manner. In the IBSS, all STAs 250-1, 250-2, 250-3, 255-4, and 255-5 may be constituted by movable STAs and are not permitted to access the DS to constitute a self-contained network.

FIG. 3 illustrates a general link setup process.

In S310, a STA may perform a network discovery operation. The network discovery operation may include a scanning operation of the STA. That is, to access a network, the STA needs to discover a participating network. The STA needs to identify a compatible network before participating in a wireless network, and a process of identifying a network present in a particular area is referred to as scanning. Scanning methods include active scanning and passive scanning.

FIG. 3 illustrates a network discovery operation including an active scanning process. In active scanning, a STA performing scanning transmits a probe request frame and waits for a response to the probe request frame in order to identify which AP is present around while moving to channels. A responder transmits a probe response frame as a response to the probe request frame to the STA having transmitted the probe request frame. Here, the responder may be a STA that transmits the last beacon frame in a BSS of a channel being scanned. In the BSS, since an AP transmits a beacon frame, the AP is the responder. In an IBSS, since STAs in the IBSS transmit a beacon frame in turns, the responder is not fixed. For example, when the STA transmits a probe request frame via channel 1 and receives a probe response frame via channel 1, the STA may store BSS-related information included in the received probe response frame, may move to the next channel (e.g., channel 2), and may perform scanning (e.g., transmits a probe request and receives a probe response via channel 2) by the same method.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, scanning may be performed by a passive scanning method. In passive scanning, a STA performing scanning may wait for a beacon frame while moving to channels. A beacon frame is one of management frames in IEEE 802.11 and is periodically transmitted to indicate the presence of a wireless network and to enable the STA performing scanning to find the wireless network and to participate in the wireless network. In a BSS, an AP serves to periodically transmit a beacon frame. In an IBSS, STAs in the IBSS transmit a beacon frame in turns. Upon receiving the beacon frame, the STA performing scanning stores information related to a BSS included in the beacon frame and records beacon frame information in each channel while moving to another channel. The STA having received the beacon frame may store BSS-related information included in the received beacon frame, may move to the next channel, and may perform scanning in the next channel by the same method.

After discovering the network, the STA may perform an authentication process in S320. The authentication process may be referred to as a first authentication process to be clearly distinguished from the following security setup operation in S340. The authentication process in S320 may include a process in which the STA transmits an authentication request frame to the AP and the AP transmits an authentication response frame to the STA in response. The authentication frames used for an authentication request/response are management frames.

The authentication frames may include information related to an authentication algorithm number, an authentication transaction sequence number, a status code, a challenge text, a robust security network (RSN), and a finite cyclic group.

The STA may transmit the authentication request frame to the AP. The AP may determine whether to allow the authentication of the STA based on the information included in the received authentication request frame. The AP may provide the authentication processing result to the STA via the authentication response frame.

When the STA is successfully authenticated, the STA may perform an association process in S330. The association process includes a process in which the STA transmits an association request frame to the AP and the AP transmits an association response frame to the STA in response. The association request frame may include, for example, information related to various capabilities, a beacon listen interval, a service set identifier (SSID), a supported rate, a supported channel, RSN, a mobility domain, a supported operating class, a traffic indication map (TIM) broadcast request, and an interworking service capability. The association response frame may include, for example, information related to various capabilities, a status code, an association ID (AID), a supported rate, an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set, a received channel power indicator (RCPI), a received signal-to-noise indicator (RSNI), a mobility domain, a timeout interval (association comeback time), an overlapping BSS scanning parameter, a TIM broadcast response, and a QoS map.

In S340, the STA may perform a security setup process. The security setup process in S340 may include a process of setting up a private key through four-way handshaking, for example, through an extensible authentication protocol over LAN (EAPOL) frame.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a PPDU used in an IEEE standard.

As illustrated, various types of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) are used in IEEE a/g/n/ac standards. Specifically, an LTF and a STF include a training signal, a SIG-A and a SIG-B include control information for a receiving STA, and a data field includes user data corresponding to a PSDU (MAC PDU/aggregated MAC PDU).

FIG. 4 also includes an example of an HE PPDU according to IEEE 802.11ax. The HE PPDU according to FIG. 4 is an illustrative PPDU for multiple users. An HE-SIG-B may be included only in a PPDU for multiple users, and an HE-SIG-B may be omitted in a PPDU for a single user.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the HE-PPDU for multiple users (MUs) may include a legacy-short training field (L-STF), a legacy-long training field (L-LTF), a legacy-signal (L-SIG), a high efficiency-signal A (HE-SIG A), a high efficiency-signal-B (HE-SIG B), a high efficiency-short training field (HE-STF), a high efficiency-long training field (HE-LTF), a data field (alternatively, an MAC payload), and a packet extension (PE) field. The respective fields may be transmitted for illustrated time periods (i.e., 4 or 8 μs).

Hereinafter, a resource unit (RU) used for a PPDU is described. An RU may include a plurality of subcarriers (or tones). An RU may be used to transmit a signal to a plurality of STAs according to OFDMA. Further, an RU may also be defined to transmit a signal to one STA. An RU may be used for an STF, an LTF, a data field, or the like.

FIG. 5 illustrates a layout of resource units (RUS) used in a band of 20 MHz.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, resource units (RUs) corresponding to different numbers of tones (i.e., subcarriers) may be used to form some fields of an HE-PPDU. For example, resources may be allocated in illustrated RUs for an HE-STF, an HE-LTF, and a data field.

As illustrated in the uppermost part of FIG. 5, a 26-unit (i.e., a unit corresponding to 26 tones) may be disposed. Six tones may be used for a guard band in the leftmost band of the 20 MHz band, and five tones may be used for a guard band in the rightmost band of the 20 MHz band. Further, seven DC tones may be inserted in a center band, that is, a DC band, and a 26-unit corresponding to 13 tones on each of the left and right sides of the DC band may be disposed. A 26-unit, a 52-unit, and a 106-unit may be allocated to other bands. Each unit may be allocated for a receiving STA, that is, a user.

The layout of the RUs in FIG. 5 may be used not only for a multiple users (MUs) but also for a single user (SU), in which case one 242-unit may be used and three DC tones may be inserted as illustrated in the lowermost part of FIG. 5.

Although FIG. 5 proposes RUs having various sizes, that is, a v26-RU, a 52-RU, a 106-RU, and a 242-RU, specific sizes of RUs may be extended or increased. Therefore, the present embodiment is not limited to the specific size of each RU (i.e., the number of corresponding tones).

FIG. 6 illustrates a layout of RUs used in a band of 40 MHz.

Similarly to FIG. 5 in which RUs having various sizes are used, a 26-RU, a 52-RU, a 106-RU, a 242-RU, a 484-RU, and the like may be used in an example of FIG. 6. Further, five DC tones may be inserted in a center frequency, 12 tones may be used for a guard band in the leftmost band of the 40 MHz band, and 11 tones may be used for a guard band in the rightmost band of the 40 MHz band.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the layout of the RUs is used for a single user, a 484-RU may be used. The specific number of RUs may be changed similarly to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates a layout of RUs used in a band of 80 MHz.

Similarly to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 in which RUs having various sizes are used, a 26-RU, a 52-RU, a 106-RU, a 242-RU, a 484-RU, a 996-RU, and the like may be used in an example of FIG. 7. Further, seven DC tones may be inserted in the center frequency, 12 tones may be used for a guard band in the leftmost band of the 80 MHz band, and 11 tones may be used for a guard band in the rightmost band of the 80 MHz band. In addition, a 26-RU corresponding to 13 tones on each of the left and right sides of the DC band may be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the layout of the RUs is used for a single user, a 996-RU may be used, in which case five DC tones may be inserted.

The RU described in the present specification may be used in uplink (UL) communication and downlink (DL) communication. For example, when UL-MU communication which is solicited by a trigger frame is performed, a transmitting STA (e.g., an AP) may allocate a first RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU, etc.) to a first STA through the trigger frame, and may allocate a second RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU, etc.) to a second STA. Thereafter, the first STA may transmit a first trigger-based PPDU based on the first RU, and the second STA may transmit a second trigger-based PPDU based on the second RU. The first/second trigger-based PPDU is transmitted to the AP at the same (or overlapped) time period.

For example, when a DL MU PPDU is configured, the transmitting STA (e.g., AP) may allocate the first RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU. etc.) to the first STA, and may allocate the second RU (e.g., 26/52/106/242-RU, etc.) to the second STA. That is, the transmitting STA (e.g., AP) may transmit HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Data fields for the first STA through the first RU in one MU PPDU, and may transmit HE-STF, HE-LTF, and Data fields for the second STA through the second RU.

Information related to a layout of the RU may be signaled through HE-SIG-B.

FIG. 8 illustrates a structure of an HE-SIG-B field.

As illustrated, an HE-SIG-B field 810 includes a common field 820 and a user-specific field 830. The common field 820 may include information commonly applied to all users (i.e., user STAs) which receive SIG-B. The user-specific field 830 may be called a user-specific control field. When the SIG-B is transferred to a plurality of users, the user-specific field 830 may be applied only any one of the plurality of users.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the common field 820 and the user-specific field 830 may be separately encoded.

The common field 820 may include RU allocation information of N*8 bits. For example, the RU allocation information may include information related to a location of an RU. For example, when a 20 MHz channel is used as shown in FIG. 5, the RU allocation information may include information related to a specific frequency band to which a specific RU (26-RU/52-RU/106-RU) is arranged.

An example of a case in which the RU allocation information consists of 8 bits is as follows.

TABLE 1 RU Allocation subfield Number (B7 B6 B5 B4 of B3 B2 B1 B0) #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 entries 00000000 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 1 00000001 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 52 1 00000010 26 26 26 26 26 52 26 26 1 00000011 26 26 26 26 26 52 52 1 00000100 26 26 52 26 26 26 26 26 1 00000101 26 26 52 26 26 26 52 1 00000110 26 26 52 26 52 26 26 1 00000111 26 26 52 26 52 52 1 00001000 52 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 1 00001001 52 26 26 26 26 26 52 1 00001010 52 26 26 26 52 26 26 1

As shown the example of FIG. 5, up to nine 26-RUs may be allocated to the 20 MHz channel. When the RU allocation information of the common field 820 is set to “00000000” as shown in Table 1, the nine 26-RUs may be allocated to a corresponding channel (i.e., 20 MHz). In addition, when the RU allocation information of the common field 820 is set to “00000001” as shown in Table 1, seven 26-RUs and one 52-RU are arranged in a corresponding channel. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the 52-RU may be allocated to the rightmost side, and the seven 26-RUs may be allocated to the left thereof.

The example of Table 1 shows only some of RU locations capable of displaying the RU allocation information.

For example, the RU allocation information may include an example of Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 8 bit indices Number (B7 B6 B5 B4 of B3 B2 B1 B0) #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 entries 01000y2y1y0 106 26 26 26 26 26 8 01001y2y1y0 106 26 26 26 52 8

“01000y2y1y0” relates to an example in which a 106-RU is allocated to the leftmost side of the 20 MHz channel, and five 26-RUs are allocated to the right side thereof. In this case, a plurality of STAs (e.g., user-STAs) may be allocated to the 106-RU, based on a MU-MIMO scheme. Specifically, up to 8 STAs (e.g., user-STAs) may be allocated to the 106-RU, and the number of STAs (e.g., user-STAs) allocated to the 106-RU is determined based on 3-bit information (y2y1y0). For example, when the 3-bit information (y2y1y0) is set to N, the number of STAs (e.g., user-STAs) allocated to the 106-RU based on the MU-MIMO scheme may be N+1.

In general, a plurality of STAs (e.g., user STAs) different from each other may be allocated to a plurality of RUs. However, the plurality of STAs (e.g., user STAs) may be allocated to one or more RUs having at least a specific size (e.g., 106 subcarriers), based on the MU-MIMO scheme.

As shown in FIG. 8, the user-specific field 830 may include a plurality of user fields. As described above, the number of STAs (e.g., user STAs) allocated to a specific channel may be determined based on the RU allocation information of the common field 820. For example, when the RU allocation information of the common field 820 is “00000000”, one user STA may be allocated to each of nine 26-RUs (e.g., nine user STAs may be allocated). That is, up to 9 user STAs may be allocated to a specific channel through an OFDMA scheme. In other words, up to 9 user STAs may be allocated to a specific channel through a non-MU-MIMO scheme.

For example, when RU allocation is set to “01000y2y1y0”, a plurality of STAs may be allocated to the 106-RU arranged at the leftmost side through the MU-MIMO scheme, and five user STAs may be allocated to five 26-RUs arranged to the right side thereof through the non-MU MIMO scheme. This case is specified through an example of FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example in which a plurality of user STAs are allocated to the same RU through a MU-MIMO scheme.

For example, when RU allocation is set to “01000010” as shown in FIG. 9, a 106-RU may be allocated to the leftmost side of a specific channel, and five 26-RUs may be allocated to the right side thereof. In addition, three user STAs may be allocated to the 106-RU through the MU-MIMO scheme. As a result, since eight user STAs are allocated, the user-specific field 830 of HE-SIG-B may include eight user fields.

The eight user fields may be expressed in the order shown in FIG. 9. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, two user fields may be implemented with one user block field.

The user fields shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 may be configured based on two formats. That is, a user field related to a MU-MIMO scheme may be configured in a first format, and a user field related to a non-MIMO scheme may be configured in a second format. Referring to the example of FIG. 9, a user field 1 to a user field 3 may be based on the first format, and a user field 4 to a user field 8 may be based on the second format. The first format or the second format may include bit information of the same length (e.g., 21 bits).

Each user field may have the same size (e.g., 21 bits). For example, the user field of the first format (the first of the MU-MIMO scheme) may be configured as follows.

For example, a first bit (i.e., B0-B10) in the user field (i.e., 21 bits) may include identification information (e.g., STA-ID, partial AID, etc.) of a user STA to which a corresponding user field is allocated. In addition, a second bit (i.e., B11-B14) in the user field (i.e., 21 bits) may include information related to a spatial configuration.

In addition, a third bit (i.e., B15-18) in the user field (i.e., 21 bits) may include modulation and coding scheme (MCS) information. The MCS information may be applied to a data field in a PPDU including corresponding SIG-B.

An MCS, MCS information, an MCS index, an MCS field, or the like used in the present specification may be indicated by an index value. For example, the MCS information may be indicated by an index 0 to an index 11. The MCS information may include information related to a constellation modulation type (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM, etc.) and information related to a coding rate (e.g., 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6e, etc.). Information related to a channel coding type (e.g., LCC or LDPC) may be excluded in the MCS information.

In addition, a fourth bit (i.e., B19) in the user field (i.e., 21 bits) may be a reserved field.

In addition, a fifth bit (i.e., B20) in the user field (i.e., 21 bits) may include information related to a coding type (e.g., BCC or LDPC). That is, the fifth bit (i.e., B20) may include information related to a type (e.g., BCC or LDPC) of channel coding applied to the data field in the PPDU including the corresponding SIG-B.

The aforementioned example relates to the user field of the first format (the format of the MU-MIMO scheme). An example of the user field of the second format (the format of the non-MU-MIMO scheme) is as follows.

A first bit (e.g., B0-B10) in the user field of the second format may include identification information of a user STA. In addition, a second bit (e.g., B11-B13) in the user field of the second format may include information related to the number of spatial streams applied to a corresponding RU. In addition, a third bit (e.g., B14) in the user field of the second format may include information related to whether a beamforming steering matrix is applied. A fourth bit (e.g., B15-B18) in the user field of the second format may include modulation and coding scheme (MCS) information. In addition, a fifth bit (e.g., B19) in the user field of the second format may include information related to whether dual carrier modulation (DCM) is applied. In addition, a sixth bit (i.e., B20) in the user field of the second format may include information related to a coding type (e.g., BCC or LDPC).

Hereinafter, a PPDU transmitted/received in a STA of the present specification will be described.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a PPDU used in the present specification.

The PPDU of FIG. 10 may be called in various terms such as an EHT PPDU, a TX PPDU, an RX PPDU, a first type or N-th type PPDU, or the like. For example, in the present specification, the PPDU or the EHT PPDU may be called in various terms such as a TX PPDU, a RX PPDU, a first type or N-th type PPDU, or the like. In addition, the EHT PPDU may be used in an EHT system and/or a new WLAN system enhanced from the EHT system.

The PPDU of FIG. 10 may indicate the entirety or part of a PPDU type used in the EHT system. For example, the example of FIG. 10 may be used for both of a single-user (SU) mode and a multi-user (MU) mode. In other words, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be a PPDU for one receiving STA or a plurality of receiving STAs. When the PPDU of FIG. 10 is used for a trigger-based (TB) mode, the EHT-SIG of FIG. 10 may be omitted. In other words, an STA which has received a trigger frame for uplink-MU (UL-MU) may transmit the PPDU in which the EHT-SIG is omitted in the example of FIG. 10.

In FIG. 10, an L-STF to an EHT-LTF may be called a preamble or a physical preamble, and may be generated/transmitted/received/obtained/decoded in a physical layer.

A subcarrier spacing of the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG fields of FIG. 10 may be determined as 312.5 kHz, and a subcarrier spacing of the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and Data fields may be determined as 78.125 kHz. That is, a tone index (or subcarrier index) of the L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, RL-SIG, U-SIG, and EHT-SIG fields may be expressed in unit of 312.5 kHz, and a tone index (or subcarrier index) of the EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and Data fields may be expressed in unit of 78.125 KHz.

In the PPDU of FIG. 10, the L-LTE and the L-STF may be the same as those in the conventional fields.

The L-SIG field of FIG. 10 may include, for example, bit information of 24 bits. For example, the 24-bit information may include a rate field of 4 bits, a reserved bit of 1 bit, a length field of 12 bits, a parity bit of 1 bit, and a tail bit of 6 bits. For example, the length field of 12 bits may include information related to a length or time duration of a PPDU. For example, the length field of 12 bits may be determined based on a type of the PPDU. For example, when the PPDU is a non-HT, HT, VHT PPDU or an EHT PPDU, a value of the length field may be determined as a multiple of 3. For example, when the PPDU is an HE PPDU, the value of the length field may be determined as “a multiple of 3”+1 or “a multiple of 3”+2. In other words, for the non-HT, HT, VHT PPDI or the EHT PPDU, the value of the length field may be determined as a multiple of 3, and for the HE PPDU, the value of the length field may be determined as “a multiple of 3”+1 or “a multiple of 3”+2.

For example, the transmitting STA may apply BCC encoding based on a 1/2 coding rate to the 24-bit information of the L-SIG field. Thereafter, the transmitting STA may obtain a BCC coding bit of 48 bits. BPSK modulation may be applied to the 48-bit coding bit, thereby generating 48 BPSK symbols. The transmitting STA may map the 48 BPSK symbols to positions except for a pilot subcarrier{subcarrier index −21, −7, +7, +21} and a DC subcarrier {subcarrier index 0}. As a result, the 48 BPSK symbols may be mapped to subcarrier indices −26 to −22, −20 to −8, −6 to −1, +1 to +6, +8 to +20, and +22 to +26. The transmitting STA may additionally map a signal of {−1, −1, −1, 1} to a subcarrier index {−28, −27, +27, +28}. The aforementioned signal may be used for channel estimation on a frequency domain corresponding to {−28, −27, +27, +28}.

The transmitting STA may generate an RL-SIG generated in the same manner as the L-SIG. BPSK modulation may be applied to the RL-SIG. The receiving STA may know that the RX PPDU is the HE PPDU or the EHT PPDU, based on the presence of the RL-SIG.

A universal SIG (U-SIG) may be inserted after the RL-SIG of FIG. 10. The U-SIB may be called in various terms such as a first SIG field, a first SIG, a first type SIG, a control signal, a control signal field, a first (type) control signal, or the like.

The U-SIG may include information of N bits, and may include information for identifying a type of the EHT PPDU. For example, the U-SIG may be configured based on two symbols (e.g., two contiguous OFDM symbols). Each symbol (e.g., OFDM symbol) for the U-SIG may have a duration of 4 μs. Each symbol of the U-SIG may be used to transmit the 26-bit information. For example, each symbol of the U-SIG may be transmitted/received based on 52 data tomes and 4 pilot tones.

Through the U-SIG (or U-SIG field), for example, A-bit information (e.g., 52 un-coded bits) may be transmitted. A first symbol of the U-SIG may transmit first X-bit information (e.g., 26 un-coded bits) of the A-bit information, and a second symbol of the U-SIB may transmit the remaining Y-bit information (e.g. 26 un-coded bits) of the A-bit information. For example, the transmitting STA may obtain 26 un-coded bits included in each U-SIG symbol. The transmitting STA may perform convolutional encoding (i.e., BCC encoding) based on a rate of R=1/2 to generate 52-coded bits, and may perform interleaving on the 52-coded bits. The transmitting STA may perform BPSK modulation on the interleaved 52-coded bits to generate 52 BPSK symbols to be allocated to each U-SIG symbol. One U-SIG symbol may be transmitted based on 65 tones (subcarriers) from a subcarrier index −28 to a subcarrier index +28, except for a DC index 0. The 52 BPSK symbols generated by the transmitting STA may be transmitted based on the remaining tones (subcarriers) except for pilot tones, i.e., tones −21, −7, +7, +21.

For example, the A-bit information (e.g., 52 un-coded bits) generated by the U-SIG may include a CRC field (e.g., a field having a length of 4 bits) and a tail field (e.g., a field having a length of 6 bits). The CRC field and the tail field may be transmitted through the second symbol of the U-SIG. The CRC field may be generated based on 26 bits allocated to the first symbol of the U-SIG and the remaining 16 bits except for the CRC/tail fields in the second symbol, and may be generated based on the conventional CRC calculation algorithm. In addition, the tail field may be used to terminate trellis of a convolutional decoder, and may be set to, for example, “000000”.

The A-bit information (e.g., 52 un-coded bits) transmitted by the U-SIG (or U-SIG field) may be divided into version-independent bits and version-dependent bits. For example, the version-independent bits may have a fixed or variable size. For example, the version-independent bits may be allocated only to the first symbol of the U-SIG, or the version-independent bits may be allocated to both of the first and second symbols of the U-SIG. For example, the version-independent bits and the version-dependent bits may be called in various terms such as a first control bit, a second control bit, or the like.

For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a PHY version identifier of 3 bits. For example, the PHY version identifier of 3 bits may include information related to a PHY version of a TX/RX PPDU. For example, a first value of the PHY version identifier of 3 bits may indicate that the TX/RX PPDU is an EHT PPDU. In other words, when the transmitting STA transmits the EHT PPDU, the PHY version identifier of 3 bits may be set to a first value. In other words, the receiving STA may determine that the RX PPDU is the EHT PPDU, based on the PHY version identifier having the first value.

For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include a UL/DL flag field of 1 bit. A first value of the UL/DL flag field of 1 bit relates to UL communication, and a second value of the UL/DL flag field relates to DL communication.

For example, the version-independent bits of the U-SIG may include information related to a TXOP length and information related to a BSS color ID.

For example, when the EHT PPDU is divided into various types (e.g., various types such as an EHT PPDU related to an SU mode, an EHT PPDU related to a MU mode, an EHT PPDU related to a TB mode, an EHT PPDU related to extended range transmission, or the like), information related to the type of the EHT PPDU may be included in the version-dependent bits of the U-SIG.

For example, the U-SIG may include: 1) a bandwidth field including information related to a bandwidth: 2) a field including information related to an MCS scheme applied to EHT-SIG: 3) an indication field including information regarding whether a dual subcarrier modulation (DCM) scheme is applied to EHT-SIG: 4) a field including information related to the number of symbol used for EHT-SIG: 5) a field including information regarding whether the EHT-SIG is generated across a full band: 6) a field including information related to a type of EHT-LTF/STF: and 7) information related to a field indicating an EHT-LTF length and a CP length.

Preamble puncturing may be applied to the PPDU of FIG. 10. The preamble puncturing implies that puncturing is applied to part (e.g., a secondary 20 MHz band) of the full band. For example, when an 80 MHz PPDU is transmitted, an STA may apply puncturing to the secondary 20 MHz band out of the 80 MHz band, and may transmit a PPDU only through a primary 20 MHz band and a secondary 40 MHz band.

For example, a pattern of the preamble puncturing may be configured in advance. For example, when a first puncturing pattern is applied, puncturing may be applied only to the secondary 20 MHz band within the 80 MHz band. For example, when a second puncturing pattern is applied, puncturing may be applied to only any one of two secondary 20 MHz bands included in the secondary 40 MHz band within the 80 MHz band. For example, when a third puncturing pattern is applied, puncturing may be applied to only the secondary 20 MHz band included in the primary 80 MHz band within the 160 MHz band (or 80+80 MHz band). For example, when a fourth puncturing is applied, puncturing may be applied to at least one 20 MHz channel not belonging to a primary 40 MHz band in the presence of the primary 40 MHz band included in the 80 MHaz band within the 160 MHz band (or 80+80 MHz band).

Information related to the preamble puncturing applied to the PPDU may be included in U-SIG and/or EHT-SIG. For example, a first field of the U-SIG may include information related to a contiguous bandwidth, and second field of the U-SIG may include information related to the preamble puncturing applied to the PPDU.

For example, the U-SIG and the EHT-SIG may include the information related to the preamble puncturing, based on the following method. When a bandwidth of the PPDU exceeds 80 MHz, the U-SIG may be configured individually in unit of 80 MHz. For example, when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 160 MHZ, the PPDU may include a first U-SIG for a first 80 MHz band and a second U-SIG for a second 80 MHz band. In this case, a first field of the first U-SIG may include information related to a 160 MHz bandwidth, and a second field of the first U-SIG may include information related to a preamble puncturing (i.e., information related to a preamble puncturing pattern) applied to the first 80 MHz band. In addition, a first field of the second U-SIG may include information related to a 160 MHz bandwidth, and a second field of the second U-SIG may include information related to a preamble puncturing (i.e., information related to a preamble puncturing pattern) applied to the second 80 MHz band. Meanwhile, an EHT-SIG contiguous to the first U-SIG may include information related to a preamble puncturing applied to the second 80 MHz band (i.e., information related to a preamble puncturing pattern), and an EHT-SIG contiguous to the second U-SIG may include information related to a preamble puncturing (i.e., information related to a preamble puncturing pattern) applied to the first 80 MHz band.

Additionally or alternatively, the U-SIG and the EHT-SIG may include the information related to the preamble puncturing, based on the following method. The U-SIG may include information related to a preamble puncturing (i.e., information related to a preamble puncturing pattern) for all bands. That is, the EHT-SIG may not include the information related to the preamble puncturing, and only the U-SIG may include the information related to the preamble puncturing (i.e., the information related to the preamble puncturing pattern).

The U-SIG may be configured in unit of 20 MHz. For example, when an 80 MHz PPDU is configured, the U-SIG may be duplicated. That is, four identical U-SIGs may be included in the 80 MHz PPDU. PPDUs exceeding an 80 MHz bandwidth may include different U-SIGs.

The EHT-SIG of FIG. 10 may include control information for the receiving STA. The EHT-SIG may be transmitted through at least one symbol, and one symbol may have a length of 4 μs. Information related to the number of symbols used for the EHT-SIG may be included in the U-SIG.

The EHT-SIG may include a technical feature of the HE-SIG-B described with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. For example, the EHT-SIG may include a common field and a user-specific field as in the example of FIG. 8. The common field of the EHT-SIG may be omitted, and the number of user-specific fields may be determined based on the number of users.

As in the example of FIG. 8, the common field of the EHT-SIG and the user-specific field of the EHT-SIG may be individually coded. One user block field included in the user-specific field may include information for two users, but a last user block field included in the user-specific field may include information for one user. That is, one user block field of the EHT-SIG may include up to two user fields. As in the example of FIG. 9, each user field may be related to MU-MIMO allocation, or may be related to non-MU-MIMO allocation.

As in the example of FIG. 8, the common field of the EHT-SIG may include a CRC bit and a tail bit. A length of the CRC bit may be determined as 4 bits. A length of the tail bit may be determined as 6 bits, and may be set to ‘000000’.

As in the example of FIG. 8, the common field of the EHT-SIG may include RU allocation information. The RU allocation information may imply information related to a location of an RU to which a plurality of users (i.e., a plurality of receiving STAs) are allocated. The RU allocation information may be configured in unit of 8 bits (or N bits), as in Table 1.

A mode in which the common field of the EHT-SIG is omitted may be supported. The mode in the common field of the EHT-SIG is omitted may be called a compressed mode. When the compressed mode is used, a plurality of users (i.e., a plurality of receiving STAs) may decode the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU), based on non-OFDMA. That is, the plurality of users of the EHT PPDU may decode the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) received through the same frequency band. Meanwhile, when a non-compressed mode is used, the plurality of users of the EHT PPDU may decode the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU), based on OFDMA. That is, the plurality of users of the EHT PPDU may receive the PPDU (e.g., the data field of the PPDU) through different frequency bands.

The EHT-SIG may be configured based on various MCS schemes. As described above, information related to an MCS scheme applied to the EHT-SIG may be included in U-SIG. The EHT-SIG may be configured based on a DCM scheme. For example, among N data tones (e.g., 52 data tones) allocated for the EHT-SIG, a first modulation scheme may be applied to half of consecutive tones, and a second modulation scheme may be applied to the remaining half of the consecutive tones. That is, a transmitting STA may use the first modulation scheme to modulate specific control information through a first symbol and allocate it to half of the consecutive tones, and may use the second modulation scheme to modulate the same control information by using a second symbol and allocate it to the remaining half of the consecutive tones. As described above, information (e.g., a 1-bit field) regarding whether the DCM scheme is applied to the EHT-SIG may be included in the U-SIG. The EHT-STF of FIG. 10 may be used for improving automatic gain control estimation in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) environment or an OFDMA environment. The EHT-LTF of FIG. 10 may be used for estimating a channel in the MIMO environment or the OFDMA environment.

Information related to a type of STF and/or LTF (information related to a GI applied to LTF is also included) may be included in a SIG-A field and/or SIG-B field or the like of FIG. 10.

A PPDU (e.g., EHT-PPDU) of FIG. 10 may be configured based on the example of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

For example, an EHT PPDU transmitted on a 20 MHz band, i.e., a 20 MHz EHT PPDU, may be configured based on the RU of FIG. 5. That is, a location of an RU of EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and data fields included in the EHT PPDU may be determined as shown in FIG. 5.

An EHT PPDU transmitted on a 40 MHz band, i.e., a 40 MHz EHT PPDU, may be configured based on the RU of FIG. 6. That is, a location of an RU of EHT-STF, EHT-LTF, and data fields included in the EHT PPDU may be determined as shown in FIG. 6.

Since the RU location of FIG. 6 corresponds to 40 MHz, a tone-plan for 80 MHz may be determined when the pattern of FIG. 6 is repeated twice. That is, an 80 MHz EHT PPDU may be transmitted based on a new tone-plan in which not the RU of FIG. 7 but the RU of FIG. 6 is repeated twice.

When the pattern of FIG. 6 is repeated twice, 23 tones (i.e., 11 guard tones+12 guard tones) may be configured in a DC region. That is, a tone-plan for an 80 MHz EHT PPDU allocated based on OFDMA may have 23 DC tones. Unlike this, an 80 MHZ EHT PPDU allocated based on non-OFDMA (i.e., a non-OFDMA full bandwidth 80 MHz PPDU) may be configured based on a 996-RU, and may include 5 DC tones, 12 left guard tones, and 11 right guard tones.

A tone-plan for 160/240/320 MHz may be configured in such a manner that the pattern of FIG. 6 is repeated several times.

The PPDU of FIG. 10 may be determined (or identified) as an EHT PPDU based on the following method.

A receiving STA may determine a type of an RX PPDU as the EHT PPDU, based on the following aspect. For example, the RX PPDU may be determined as the EHT PPDU: 1) when a first symbol after an L-LTF signal of the RX PPDU is a BPSK symbol: 2) when RL-SIG in which the L-SIG of the RX PPDU is repeated is detected: and 3) when a result of applying “modulo 3” to a value of a length field of the L-SIG of the RX PPDU is detected as “0”. When the RX PPDU is determined as the EHT PPDU, the receiving STA may detect a type of the EHT PPDU (e.g., an SU/MU/Trigger-based/Extended Range type), based on bit information included in a symbol after the RL-SIG of FIG. 10. In other words, the receiving STA may determine the RX PPDU as the EHT PPDU, based on: 1) a first symbol after an L-LTF signal, which is a BPSK symbol: 2) RL-SIG contiguous to the L-SIG field and identical to L-SIG: 3) L-SIG including a length field in which a result of applying “modulo 3” is set to “0”: and 4) a 3-bit PHY version identifier of the aforementioned U-SIG (e.g., a PHY version identifier having a first value).

For example, the receiving STA may determine the type of the RX PPDU as the EHT PPDU, based on the following aspect. For example, the RX PPDU may be determined as the HE PPDU: 1) when a first symbol after an L-LTF signal is a BPSK symbol: 2) when RL-SIG in which the L-SIG is repeated is detected: and 3) when a result of applying “modulo 3” to a value of a length field of the L-SIG is detected as “1” or “2”.

For example, the receiving STA may determine the type of the RX PPDU as a non-HT, HT, and VHT PPDU, based on the following aspect. For example, the RX PPDU may be determined as the non-HT, HT, and VHT PPDU: 1) when a first symbol after an L-LTF signal is a BPSK symbol: and 2) when RL-SIG in which L-SIG is repeated is not detected. In addition, even if the receiving STA detects that the RL-SIG is repeated, when a result of applying “modulo 3” to the length value of the L-SIG is detected as “0”, the RX PPDU may be determined as the non-HT, HT, and VHT PPDU.

In the following example, a signal represented as a (TX/RX/UL/DL) signal, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) frame, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) packet, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) data unit, (TX/RX/UL/DL) data, or the like may be a signal transmitted/received based on the PPDU of FIG. 10. The PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used to transmit/receive frames of various types. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used for a control frame. An example of the control frame may include a request to send (RTS), a clear to send (CTS), a power save-poll (PS-poll), BlockACKReq, BlockAck, a null data packet (NDP) announcement, and a trigger frame. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used for a management frame. An example of the management frame may include a beacon frame, a (re-)association request frame, a (re-)association response frame, a probe request frame, and a probe response frame. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used for a data frame. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used to simultaneously transmit at least two or more of the control frames, the management frame, and the data frame.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a modified transmission device and/or receiving device of the present specification.

Each device/STA of the sub-figure (a)/(b) of FIG. 1 may be modified as shown in FIG. 11. A transceiver 630 of FIG. 11 may be identical to the transceivers 113 and 123 of FIG. 1. The transceiver 630 of FIG. 11 may include a receiver and a transmitter.

A processor 610 of FIG. 11 may be identical to the processors 111 and 121 of FIG. 1. Alternatively, the processor 610 of FIG. 11 may be identical to the processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1.

A memory 620 of FIG. 11 may be identical to the memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1. Alternatively, the memory 620 of FIG. 11 may be a separate external memory different from the memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 11, a power management module 611 manages power for the processor 610 and/or the transceiver 630. A battery 612 supplies power to the power management module 611. A display 613 outputs a result processed by the processor 610. A keypad 614 receives inputs to be used by the processor 610. The keypad 614 may be displayed on the display 613. A SIM card 615 may be an integrated circuit which is used to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and its related key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices such as mobile phones and computers.

Referring to FIG. 11, a speaker 640 may output a result related to a sound processed by the processor 610. A microphone 641 may receive an input related to a sound to be used by the processor 610.

1. Embodiment Applicable to the Present Disclosure

The WLAN 802.11 system considers transmission of an increased stream using a band wider than that of the existing 11ax or more antennas to increase the peak throughput. In addition, the present specification also considers a method of aggregating and using various bands/links.

Meanwhile, the EHT Capabilities element is defined to indicate the capabilities of the STA, and among these, the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field is proposed.

The AP and STA can exchange the capabilities of the STA (or AP) at the association stage after beacon transmission, and at this time, the HE Capabilities element and EHT Capabilities element can be used.

The HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set subfield (7 bits). The Supported Channel Width Set subfield is defined as follows.

TABLE 3 Subfield Definition Encoding Supported Channel In the 2.4 GHz band: B0 is set to 0 if not supported. B0 Width Set  - B0 indicates support for a 40 MHz channel is set to 1 if supported. width B1 is set to 0 if not supported. B1  - B1, B2, and B3 are reserved is set to 1 if supported.  - B4 indicates support of 242-tone RUs in a 40 B2 is set to 0 if not supported. B2 MHz HE MU PPDU if a non-AP STA oper- is set to 1 if supported. If B2 is 1, ates with a 20 MHz channel width and the 20 then B1 is set to 1. MHz In 40 MHz HE PPDU In 2.4 GHz sub- B3 is set to 0 if not supported. B3 field is 1; otherwise B4 is reserved is set to 1 if supported. If B3 is 1,  - B5 and B6 are reserved then B2 is set to 1. In the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands: B4 is set to 0 if not supported. B4  - B0 is reserved is set to 1 if supported.  - B1 indicates support for a 40 MHz and B5 is set to 0 if not supported. B5 80 MHz channel width is set to 1 if supported.  - B2 indicates support for a 160 MHz channel NOTE 1-If a non-AP STA oper- width ates with 20 MHz channel width  - B3 indicates support for a 160/80+80 MHz and the 20 MHz In 40 MHz HE channel width PPDU In 2.4 GHz subfield is 0,  - B4 is reserved then B4 is set to 0.  - B5 indicates support of 242-tone RUs in a NOTE 2-If a non-AP STA oper-  • 40 MHz and 80 MHz HE MU PPDU if a ates with 20 MHz channel width non-AP STA operates with 20 MHz chan- and the 20 MHz In 160/80+80 nel width and the 20 MHz In 160/80+80 MHz HE PPDU subfield is 0, then MHz HE PPDU subfield is set to 0, or the 242-tone RU in a 160 MHz  • 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 80+80 MHz and 80+80 MHz HE MU PPDU in HE MU PPDU if a non-AP STA operates the 5 GHz band or 6 GHz band is with 20 MHz channel width and the 20 not supported. MHz In 160/80+80 MHz HE PPDU sub- field is set to 1;  • otherwise B5 is reserved  - B6 is reserved

FIG. 12 shows the format of the EHT Capabilities element.

The STA declares that it is an EHT STA by transmitting an EHT Capabilities element. The EHT Capabilities element includes several fields used to advertise the EHT capabilities of the EHT STA.

Referring to FIG. 12, the EHT Capabilities element includes an Element field, a Length field, an Element ID Extension field, an EHT MAC Capabilities Information field, an EHT PHY Capabilities Information field, a Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field, and an EHT PPE Thresholds (Optional) field.

FIG. 13 shows the format of the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field.

The Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field represents a combination of EHT-MCS 0-13 supporting transmission of STA and number of spatial streams NSS and a combination of EHT-MCS 0-13 supporting reception of STA and the number of spatial streams NSS.

EHT-MCS 14 and 15 can only be combined with a single stream, and are indicated in the EHT PHY Capabilities Information field.

Referring to FIG. 13, the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, EHT-MCS Map (BW≤80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) subfield and EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfield.

The definition and encoding of subfields included in the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field are described as follows.

TABLE 4 Subfield Definition Encoding EHT-MCS Map(20 MHz- For a 20 MHz-only non-AP The format and encoding of Only Non-AP STA) STA, indicates the maximum this subfield are defined in number of spatial streams EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz- supported for reception and Only Non-AP STA) subfield the maximum number of and Basic EHT-MCS and spatial streams that the STA NSS Set field format and the can transmit, for each MCS associated description. value in a PPDU with a In 5 GHz and 6 GHz, if B1, bandwidth of 20 MHz, 40 B2, and B3 of the Supported MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or Channel Width Set field in 320 MHz. the HE PHY Capabilities Information field are all 0, then this field is present; otherwise, it is not present. In 2.4 GHz, if B0 of the Supported Channel Width Set field in the HE PHY Capabilities Information field is 0, then this field is present; otherwise, it is not present.

TABLE 5 Subfield Definition Encoding EHT-MCS Map Except for a 20 MHz-only The format and encoding of (BW ≤ 80 MHz, Except 20 non-AP STA, indicates the this subfield are defined in MHz-Only Non-AP STA) maximum number of spatial EHT-MCS Map (BW ≤ 80 streams supported for MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only reception and the maximum Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS number of spatial streams that Map (BW = 160 MHz), and the STA can transmit, for EHT-MCS Map (BW = 320 each MCS value, in a PPDU MHz) subfield format and the with a bandwidth of 20 MHz, associated description. 40 MHz, or 80 MHz. In 5 GHz or 6 GHz, if B1 of For a 20 MHz or 80 MHz the Supported Channel Width operating non-AP STA, Set field in the HE PHY additionally indicates the Capabilities Information field maximum number of spatial is 1, then this field is present; streams supported for otherwise, it is not present. reception and the maximum In 2.4 GHz, if B0 of the number of spatial streams that Supported Channel Width Set the non-AP STA can field in the HE PHY transmit, for each MCS value, Capabilities Information field in a PPDU with a bandwidth is 1, then this field is present; of 160 MHz or 320 MHz. otherwise it is not present.

TABLE 6 Subfield Definition Encoding EHT-MCS Map If the operating channel width The format and encoding of (BW = 160 MHz) of the STA is greater than or this subfield are defined in equal to 160 MHz, indicates EHT-MCS Map (BW ≤ 80 the maximum number of MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only spatial streams supported for Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS reception and the maximum Map (BW = 160 MHz), and number of spatial streams that EHT-MCS Map (BW = 320 the STA can transmit, for MHz) subfield format and the each MCS value, in a PPDU associated description. with a bandwidth of 160 If B2 of the Supported MHz. Channel Width Set field in For a 160 MHz operating the HE PHY Capabilities non-AP STA, additionally Information field is 1, then indicates the maximum this field is present; number of spatial streams otherwise, it is not present. supported for reception and the maximum number of spatial streams that the non- AP STA can transmit, for each MCS value, in a PPDU with a bandwidth of 320 MHz. EHT-MCS Map If the operating channel width The format and encoding of (BW = 320 MHz) of the STA is 320 MHz, this subfield are defined in indicates the maximum EHT-MCS Map (BW ≤ 80 number of spatial streams MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only supported for reception and Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS the maximum number of Map (BW = 160 MHz), and spatial streams that the STA EHT-MCS Map (BW = 320 can transmit, for each MCS MHz) subfield format and the value, in a PPDU with a associated description. bandwidth of 320 If the Support For 320 MHz MHz. In 6 GHz sub-field, in the EHT PHY Capabilities Information field is 1, then this field is present; otherwise, it is not present.

1.1. Modify Definition of Existing Subfield, Encoding is the Same

The definition of the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield means the maximum Nss (Number of Spatial Stream) that a 20 MHz-only STA (or 20 MHz operating STA) can receive or transmit in each MCS. However, a 20 MHz-only STA (or 20 MHz operating STA) can transmit and receive by being assigned to a RU/MRU within a specific 20 MHz channel with a wider bandwidth (i.e., 40/80/160/320 MHz). Therefore, the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may mean the maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted by each MCS when the corresponding 20 MHz-only STA (or 20 MHz operating STA) is allocated and used for the RU/MRU within a specific 20 MHz channel regardless of the bandwidth of the PPDU. If only 20 MHz-only STAs are considered, 320 MHz PPDUs may not be considered.

FIG. 14 is the format of the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield.

Referring to FIG. 14, the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may have a size of 4 octets, and the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may include 8 subfields of 4 bits each. Each subfield indicates the maximum Nss value supported in a specific EHT-MCS transmission/reception situation.

Referring to FIG. 14, the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield includes Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield, Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield, Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 8-9 subfield, Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 8-9 subfield, Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield and Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield.

FIG. 15 is the format of the EHT-MCS Map (BW≤80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz), and EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfields.

Referring to FIG. 15, since the EHT-MCS Map (BW≤80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) and EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfields can have a size of 3 octets, EHT-MCS Map (BW≤80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) and EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfields may include 6 subfields each consisting of 4 bits. Each subfield indicates the maximum Nss value supported in a specific EHT-MCS transmission/reception situation.

Referring to FIG. 15, each of the EHT-MCS Map (BW≤80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA), EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz), and EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfields include Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield, Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield, Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield, and Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield.

Each 4-bit subfield in FIGS. 14 and 15 can be encoded as follows. The table below shows the encoding of the maximum Nss value for a specific MCS value.

TABLE 7 Max Nss Maximum number of spatial streams subfield value that supports the specified MCS set 0 Not supported 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9-15 Reserved

The Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield and the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield are encoded according to Table 7 above.

The Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield and the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield are encoded according to Table 7 above.

The Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield and the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield are encoded according to Table 7 above.

The Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield and the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield are encoded according to Table 7 above.

The reserved values in Table 7 above indicate the maximum Nss greater than 8 spatial streams.

The current definition of the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHZ, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield means the maximum Nss that an STA operating above 80 MHz can receive or transmit in each MCS of a 20/40/80 MHz PPDU. However, this does not consider the situation that STAs are allocate to a wider bandwidth to transmit/receive. Therefore, the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may mean the maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted by each MCS when an operating STA of 80 MHz or more is assigned and used to a RU/MRU within a specific 20/40/80 MHz regardless of the bandwidth of the PPDU.

FIG. 15 is the format of the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHZ, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield, and the 4-bit encoding method is the same as Table 7 above.

The current definition of the EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHZ) subfield means the maximum Nss that an STA operating above 160 MHz can receive or transmit in each MCS of a 160 MHz PPDU. However, this does not consider the situation that STAs are allocate to a wider bandwidth to transmit/receive. Therefore, the EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) subfield may mean the maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted in each MCS when an operating STA of 160 MHz or more is assigned and used to a RU/MRU in a specific channel above 80 MHz but below 160 MHz regardless of the bandwidth of the PPDU.

The format of the EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) subfield is the same as in FIG. 15, and the 4-bit encoding method is the same as Table 7 above.

The current definition of the EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHZ) subfield means the maximum Nss that a 320 MHz operating STA can receive or transmit in each MCS of a 320 MHz PPDU. Like other subfields, the EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfield may mean the maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted in each MCS regardless of the bandwidth of the PPDU, when a 320 MHz operating STA is allocated and used to a RU/MRU within a specific channel exceeding 160 MHz and below 320 MHz.

The format of the EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHZ) subfield is the same as in FIG. 15, and the 4-bit encoding method is the same as Table 7 above.

1.2. Subfield Definition at 2.4 GHz

20 MHz-only STA of 2.4 GHz can use the above EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield as is. However, the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may be present only in the case of a 20 MHz-only STA (or 20 MHz operating STA) at 2.4 GHz. That is, in the case of 2.4 GHz, B0 of the Supported Channel Width Set field in the HE PHY Capabilities Information field is 0. In the case of 2.4 GHZ, only PPDU BW of 20/40 MHz is present.

A new EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA in 2.4 GHz) subfield can be additionally defined for 20 MHz-only STA in 2.4 GHz. The EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA in 2.4 GHz) subfield may be the maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted by each MCS when the 20 MHz-only STA (or 20 MHz operating STA) is assigned to and used in a RU/MRU within a specific 20 MHz channel in a 20/40 MHz PPDU situation at 2.4 GHz. The format of the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA in 2.4 GHz) subfield may be the same as FIG. 14, and the 4-bit encoding method may be the same as Table 7 above. The EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only STA in 2.4 GHz) subfield may be present only in the case of a 20 MHz-only STA (or 20 MHz operating STA) in 2.4 GHz. That is, in the case of 2.4 GHz, B0 of the Supported Channel Width Set field in the HE PHY Capabilities Information field is 0.

2.4 GHz 40 MHz operating STA can use the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield above. In this case, the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may be the Maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted by each MCS when the corresponding 40 MHz operating STA is assigned to and used in a RU/MRU within a specific 20/40 MHz channel in a 20/40 MHz PPDU situation at 2.4 GHz. The EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may be present only for STAs operating at 40 MHz at 2.4 GHz. That is, in the case of 2.4 GHz, B0 of the Supported Channel Width Set field in the HE PHY Capabilities Information field is 1.

Alternatively, for a 40 MHz operating STA in 2.4 GHz, the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=40 MHz in 2.4 GHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield can be defined in the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field (a different name may be used). The definition of the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=40 MHz in 2.4 GHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield is the maximum Nss that can be received or transmitted by each MCS when the 40 MHz operating STA is assigned to and used in a RU/MRU within a specific 20/40 MHz channel in a 20/40 MHz PPDU situation at 2.4 GHz. Additionally, the format of the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=40 MHz in 2.4 GHz, Except 20 MHz-Only STA) subfield may be the same as FIG. 15, and the 4-bit encoding method may be the same as Table 7 above. This subfield can exist only for STAs operating at 40 MHz at 2.4 GHz. That is, in the case of 2.4 GHz, B0 of the Supported Channel Width Set field in the HE PHY Capabilities Information field is 1.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the transmitting apparatus/device according to the present embodiment.

The example of FIG. 16 may be performed by a transmitting device (AP and/or non-AP STA).

Some of each step (or detailed sub-step to be described later) of the example of FIG. 16 may be skipped/omitted.

Through step S1610, the transmitting device (transmitting STA) may obtain information about the above-described tone plan. As described above, the information about the tone plan includes the size and location of the RU, control information related to the RU, information about a frequency band including the RU, information about an STA receiving the RU, and the like.

Through step S1620, the transmitting device may construct/generate a PPDU based on the acquired control information. Configuring/generating the PPDU may include configuring/generating each field of the PPDU. That is, step S1620 includes configuring the EHT-SIG field including control information about the tone plan. That is, step S1620 includes configuring a field including control information (e.g., N bitmap) indicating the size/position of the RU: and/or configuring a field including an identifier of an STA receiving the RU (e.g., AID).

Also, step S1620 may include generating an STF/LTF sequence transmitted through a specific RU. The STF/LTF sequence may be generated based on a preset STF generation sequence/LTF generation sequence.

Also, step S1620 may include generating a data field (i.e., MPDU) transmitted through a specific RU.

The transmitting device may transmit the PPDU constructed through step S1620 to the receiving device based on step S1630.

While performing step S1630, the transmitting device may perform at least one of operations such as CSD, Spatial Mapping, IDFT/IFFT operation, and GI insertion.

A signal/field/sequence constructed according to the present specification may be transmitted in the form of FIG. 10.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the receiving apparatus/device according to the present embodiment.

The aforementioned PPDU may be received according to the example of FIG. 17.

The example of FIG. 17 may be performed by a receiving apparatus/device (AP and/or non-AP STA).

Some of each step (or detailed sub-step to be described later) of the example of FIG. 17 may be skipped/omitted.

The receiving device (receiving STA) may receive all or part of the PPDU through step S2110. The received signal may be in the form of FIG. 10.

A sub-step of step S1710 may be determined based on step S1630 of FIG. 16. That is, in step S1710, an operation of restoring the result of the CSD, Spatial Mapping, IDFT/IFFT operation, and GI insertion operation applied in step S1730 may be performed.

In step S1720, the receiving device may perform decoding on all/part of the PPDU. Also, the receiving device may obtain control information related to a tone plan (i.e., RU) from the decoded PPDU.

More specifically, the receiving device may decode the L-SIG and EHT-SIG of the PPDU based on the legacy STF/LTF and obtain information included in the L-SIG and EHT SIG fields. Information on various tone plans (i.e., RUs) described in this specification may be included in the EHT-SIG, and the receiving STA may obtain information on the tone plan (i.e., RU) through the EHT-SIG.

In step S1730, the receiving device may decode the remaining part of the PPDU based on information about the tone plan (i.e., RU) acquired through step S1720. For example, the receiving STA may decode the STF/LTF field of the PPDU based on information about one plan (i.e., RU). In addition, the receiving STA may decode the data field of the PPDU based on information about the tone plan (i.e., RU) and obtain the MPDU included in the data field.

In addition, the receiving device may perform a processing operation of transferring the data decoded through step S1730 to a higher layer (e.g., MAC layer). In addition, when generation of a signal is instructed from the upper layer to the PHY layer in response to data transmitted to the upper layer, a subsequent operation may be performed.

Hereinafter, the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 17.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure in which a transmitting STA receives capability information of a receiving STA according to the present embodiment.

The example of FIG. 18 may be performed in a network environment in which a next generation WLAN system (IEEE 802.11be or EHT WLAN system) is supported. The next generation wireless LAN system is a WLAN system that is enhanced from an 802.11ax system and may, therefore, satisfy backward compatibility with the 802.11ax system.

The example of FIG. 18 is performed in a transmitting STA, and the transmitting STA may correspond to an access point (AP) STA. The receiving STA may correspond to a non-AP STA.

This embodiment proposes a signaling method that includes the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS in Capability information according to a bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates and a transmission bandwidth for transmitting a PPDU.

In step S1810, a transmitting station (STA) receives capability information of a receiving STA from the receiving STA.

In step S1820, the transmitting STA decodes the capability information of the receiving STA.

The capability information of the receiving STA includes a High Efficiency (HE) Capabilities element and an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capabilities element.

The HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field. The EHT Capabilities element includes a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) And NSS (Number of Spatial Stream) Set field.

The Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes first to fourth subfields. The first subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, the second subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, the third subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) subfield, and the fourth subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfield.

The first subfield includes information on a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits (B1, B2, B3) of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0. The first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the first transmission bandwidth may correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in a 2.4 GHz band, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits (B1, B2, B3) of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0. The first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

That is, the receiving STA can transmit the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS to the transmitting STA through the first subfield depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 20 MHz only) regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth (If the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, it can only support a transmission bandwidth of up to 40 MHz).

The second subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 80 MHz or less rather than a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a second transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the second bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHZ subfield is set to 0. The second transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHZ, 40 MHZ, 80 MHZ, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the second transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1. The second transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, a bandwidth of 80 MHz or less), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the second subfield (If the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, it can only support a transmission bandwidth of up to 40 MHz).

The third subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 160 MHz and is allocated to a third transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the third subfield is present when the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1 and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0. The third transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the third transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 160 MHz), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the third subfield (the 2.4 GHz band does not support operating channels of 160 MHz or higher).

The fourth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 320 MHz and is allocated to a fourth transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the fourth subfield is present when the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 1. The fourth transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the fourth transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 320 MHz), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the fourth subfield.

That is, this embodiment proposes a method of signaling by including information on the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each supportable MCS that can be supported according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates in the Capability information, regardless of the transmission bandwidth. In particular, by specifying the operating bandwidth of the STA, the maximum number of spatial streams can be simply indicated, which has the effect of lowering overhead and improving overall throughput.

The first to fourth transmission bandwidths may correspond to a bandwidth of a PPDU that the receiving STA can transmit and receive.

The first subfield may include fifth to twelfth subfields. The fifth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield, the sixth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield, the seventh subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 8-9 subfield, the eighth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 8-9 subfield, the ninth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the tenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the eleventh subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield, and the twelfth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield.

The fifth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 7. The sixth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 7. The seventh subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 8 to 9. The eighth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 8 to 9. The ninth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11. The tenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11. The eleventh subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13. The twelfth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

Each of the second to fourth subfields may include the thirteenth to eighteenth subfields. The thirteenth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield, the fourteenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield, the fifteenth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the sixteenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the seventeenth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield, the eighteenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield.

The thirteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 9. The fourteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 9. The fifteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11. The sixteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11. The seventeenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13. The eighteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

The fifth to eighteenth subfields may consist of 4 bits. When the value of the 4 bits is 1 to 8, the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit in the specified MCS may be 1 to 8. When the value of the 4 bits is 9 to 15, it is set to a reserved value, which may mean that the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit in a specified MCS is more than 8.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure in which a receiving STA transmits capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA according to the present embodiment.

The example of FIG. 19 may be performed in a network environment in which a next generation WLAN system (IEEE 802.11be or EHT WLAN system) is supported. The next generation wireless LAN system is a WLAN system that is enhanced from an 802.11ax system and may, therefore, satisfy backward compatibility with the 802.11ax system.

The example of FIG. 19 is performed in a receiving STA, and the receiving STA may correspond to non-access point (a non-AP) STA. The transmitting STA may correspond to an AP STA.

This embodiment proposes a signaling method that includes the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS in Capability information according to a bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates and a transmission bandwidth for transmitting a PPDU.

In step S1910, a receiving station (STA) generates capability information of the receiving STA.

In step S1920, the receiving STA transmits the capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA.

The capability information of the receiving STA includes a High Efficiency (HE) Capabilities element and an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capabilities element.

The HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field. The EHT Capabilities element includes a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) And NSS (Number of Spatial Stream) Set field.

The Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes first to fourth subfields. The first subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, the second subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW<=80 MHz, Except 20 MHz-Only Non-AP STA) subfield, the third subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW=160 MHz) subfield, and the fourth subfield may correspond to the EHT-MCS Map (BW=320 MHz) subfield.

The first subfield includes information on a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits (B1, B2, B3) of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0. The first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the first transmission bandwidth may correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in a 2.4 GHz band, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits (B1, B2, B3) of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0. The first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

That is, the receiving STA can transmit the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS to the transmitting STA through the first subfield depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 20 MHz only) regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth (If the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, it can only support a transmission bandwidth of up to 40 MHz).

The second subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 80 MHz or less rather than a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a second transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the second bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHZ subfield is set to 0. The second transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHZ, 40 MHZ, 80 MHZ, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the second transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1. The second transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, a bandwidth of 80 MHz or less), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the second subfield (If the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, it can only support a transmission bandwidth of up to 40 MHz).

The third subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 160 MHz and is allocated to a third transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the third subfield is present when the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1 and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0. The third transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the third transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 160 MHz), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the third subfield (the 2.4 GHz band does not support operating channels of 160 MHz or higher).

The fourth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 320 MHz and is allocated to a fourth transmission bandwidth.

When the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the fourth subfield is present when the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 1. The fourth transmission bandwidth may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz. Since the fourth transmission bandwidth can correspond to all bandwidths, it can be seen that the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS is indicated according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates, regardless of the transmission bandwidth.

That is, regardless of the size of the transmission bandwidth, depending on the bandwidth at which the receiving STA operates (here, 320 MHz), the receiving STA may transmit to the transmitting STA the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each MCS through the fourth subfield.

That is, this embodiment proposes a method of signaling by including information on the maximum number of spatial streams that can be transmitted or received for each supportable MCS that can be supported according to the bandwidth in which the receiving STA operates in the Capability information, regardless of the transmission bandwidth. In particular, by specifying the operating bandwidth of the STA, the maximum number of spatial streams can be simply indicated, which has the effect of lowering overhead and improving overall throughput.

The first to fourth transmission bandwidths may correspond to a bandwidth of a PPDU that the receiving STA can transmit and receive.

The first subfield may include fifth to twelfth subfields. The fifth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield, the sixth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-7 subfield, the seventh subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 8-9 subfield, the eighth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 8-9 subfield, the ninth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the tenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the eleventh subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield, and the twelfth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield.

The fifth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 7. The sixth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 7. The seventh subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 8 to 9. The eighth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 8 to 9. The ninth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11. The tenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11. The eleventh subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13. The twelfth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

Each of the second to fourth subfields may include the thirteenth to eighteenth subfields. The thirteenth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield, the fourteenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 0-9 subfield, the fifteenth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the sixteenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 10-11 subfield, the seventeenth subfield may correspond to the Rx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield, the eighteenth subfield may correspond to the Tx Max Nss That Supports EHT-MCS 12-13 subfield.

The thirteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 9. The fourteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 9. The fifteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11. The sixteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11. The seventeenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13. The eighteenth subfield may include information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

The fifth to eighteenth subfields may consist of 4 bits. When the value of the 4 bits is 1 to 8, the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit in the specified MCS may be 1 to 8. When the value of the 4 bits is 9 to 15, it is set to a reserved value, which may mean that the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit in a specified MCS is more than 8.

2. Device Configuration

The technical features of the present disclosure may be applied to various devices and methods. For example, the technical features of the present disclosure may be performed/supported through the device(s) of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 11. For example, the technical features of the present disclosure may be applied to only part of FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 11. For example, the technical features of the present disclosure may be implemented based on the processing chip(s) 114 and 124 of FIG. 1, or implemented based on the processor(s) 111 and 121 and the memory(s) 112 and 122, or implemented based on the processor 610 and the memory 620 of FIG. 11. For example, the device according to the present disclosure generates capability information of a receiving station (STA); and transmits the capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA.

The technical features of the present disclosure may be implemented based on a computer readable medium (CRM). For example, a CRM according to the present disclosure is at least one computer readable medium including instructions designed to be executed by at least one processor.

The CRM may store instructions that perform operations including generating capability information of a receiving station (STA); and transmitting the capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA. At least one processor may execute the instructions stored in the CRM according to the present disclosure. At least one processor related to the CRM of the present disclosure may be the processor 111, 121 of FIG. 1, the processing chip 114, 124 of FIG. 1, or the processor 610 of FIG. 11. Meanwhile, the CRM of the present disclosure may be the memory 112, 122 of FIG. 1, the memory 620 of FIG. 11, or a separate external memory/storage medium/disk.

The foregoing technical features of the present specification are applicable to various applications or business models. For example, the foregoing technical features may be applied for wireless communication of a device supporting artificial intelligence (AI).

Artificial intelligence refers to a field of study on artificial intelligence or methodologies for creating artificial intelligence, and machine learning refers to a field of study on methodologies for defining and solving various issues in the area of artificial intelligence. Machine learning is also defined as an algorithm for improving the performance of an operation through steady experiences of the operation.

An artificial neural network (ANN) is a model used in machine learning and may refer to an overall problem-solving model that includes artificial neurons (nodes) forming a network by combining synapses. The artificial neural network may be defined by a pattern of connection between neurons of different layers, a learning process of updating a model parameter, and an activation function generating an output value.

The artificial neural network may include an input layer, an output layer, and optionally one or more hidden layers. Each layer includes one or more neurons, and the artificial neural network may include synapses that connect neurons. In the artificial neural network, each neuron may output a function value of an activation function of input signals input through a synapse, weights, and deviations.

A model parameter refers to a parameter determined through learning and includes a weight of synapse connection and a deviation of a neuron. A hyper-parameter refers to a parameter to be set before learning in a machine learning algorithm and includes a learning rate, the number of iterations, a mini-batch size, and an initialization function.

Learning an artificial neural network may be intended to determine a model parameter for minimizing a loss function. The loss function may be used as an index for determining an optimal model parameter in a process of learning the artificial neural network.

Machine learning may be classified into supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning.

Supervised learning refers to a method of training an artificial neural network with a label given for training data, wherein the label may indicate a correct answer (or result value) that the artificial neural network needs to infer when the training data is input to the artificial neural network. Unsupervised learning may refer to a method of training an artificial neural network without a label given for training data. Reinforcement learning may refer to a training method for training an agent defined in an environment to choose an action or a sequence of actions to maximize a cumulative reward in each state.

Machine learning implemented with a deep neural network (DNN) including a plurality of hidden layers among artificial neural networks is referred to as deep learning, and deep learning is part of machine learning. Hereinafter, machine learning is construed as including deep learning.

The foregoing technical features may be applied to wireless communication of a robot.

Robots may refer to machinery that automatically process or operate a given task with own ability thereof. In particular, a robot having a function of recognizing an environment and autonomously making a judgment to perform an operation may be referred to as an intelligent robot.

Robots may be classified into industrial, medical, household, military robots and the like according uses or fields. A robot may include an actuator or a driver including a motor to perform various physical operations, such as moving a robot joint. In addition, a movable robot may include a wheel, a brake, a propeller, and the like in a driver to run on the ground or fly in the air through the driver.

The foregoing technical features may be applied to a device supporting extended reality.

Extended reality collectively refers to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). VR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing a real-world object and background only in a CG image, AR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing a virtual CG image on a real object image, and MR technology is a computer graphic technology of providing virtual objects mixed and combined with the real world.

MR technology is similar to AR technology in that a real object and a virtual object are displayed together. However, a virtual object is used as a supplement to a real object in AR technology, whereas a virtual object and a real object are used as equal statuses in MR technology.

XR technology may be applied to a head-mount display (HMD), a head-up display (HUD), a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a TV, digital signage, and the like. A device to which XR technology is applied may be referred to as an XR device.

The claims recited in the present specification may be combined in a variety of ways. For example, the technical features of the method claims of the present specification may be combined to be implemented as a device, and the technical features of the device claims of the present specification may be combined to be implemented by a method. In addition, the technical characteristics of the method claim of the present specification and the technical characteristics of the device claim may be combined to be implemented as a device, and the technical characteristics of the method claim of the present specification and the technical characteristics of the device claim may be combined to be implemented by a method.

Claims

1. A method in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising:

generating, by a receiving station (STA), capability information of the receiving STA; and
transmitting, by the receiving STA, the capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA,
wherein the capability information of the receiving STA includes a High Efficiency (HE) Capabilities element and an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capabilities element,
wherein the HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field,
wherein the EHT Capabilities element includes a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHZ subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) And NSS (Number of Spatial Stream) Set field,
wherein the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes first to fourth subfields,
wherein the first subfield includes information on a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth,
wherein when the receiving STA operates in 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0, and the first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz, and
wherein when the receiving STA operates in a 2.4 GHz band, the first subfield is present when a first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 80 MHz or less rather than a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a second transmission bandwidth,

wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the second bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0, and the second transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz, and
wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, and the second transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the third subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 160 MHz and is allocated to a third transmission bandwidth,

wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the third subfield is present when the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1 and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0, and the third transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the fourth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 320 MHz and is allocated to a fourth transmission bandwidth,

wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the fourth subfield is present when the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 1, and the fourth transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first subfield includes fifth to twelfth subfields,

wherein the fifth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 7,
wherein the sixth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 7,
wherein the seventh subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 8 to 9,
wherein the eighth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 8 to 9,
wherein the ninth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the tenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the eleventh subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13,
wherein the twelfth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the second to fourth subfields includes the thirteenth to eighteenth subfields,

wherein the thirteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 9,
wherein the fourteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 9,
wherein the fifteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the sixteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the seventeenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13,
wherein the eighteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

7. A receiving station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the receiving STA comprising:

a memory;
a transceiver; and
a processor being operatively connected to the memory and the transceiver,
wherein the processor is configured to:
generate capability information of the receiving STA; and
transmit the capability information of the receiving STA to a transmitting STA,
wherein the capability information of the receiving STA includes a High Efficiency (HE) Capabilities element and an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capabilities element,
wherein the HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field,
wherein the EHT Capabilities element includes a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) And NSS (Number of Spatial Stream) Set field,
wherein the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes first to fourth subfields,
wherein the first subfield includes information on a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth,
wherein when the receiving STA operates in 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0, and the first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz, and
wherein when the receiving STA operates in a 2.4 GHz band, the first subfield is present when a first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

8. A method in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a transmitting station (STA), capability information of a receiving STA from the receiving STA; and
decoding, by the transmitting STA, the capability information of the receiving STA,
wherein the capability information of the receiving STA includes a High Efficiency (HE) Capabilities element and an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Capabilities element,
wherein the HE Capabilities element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field,
wherein the EHT Capabilities element includes a Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield and a Supported EHT-MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) And NSS (Number of Spatial Stream) Set field,
wherein the Supported EHT-MCS And NSS Set field includes first to fourth subfields,
wherein the first subfield includes information on a maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a first transmission bandwidth,
wherein when the receiving STA operates in 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, the first subfield is present when second to fourth bits of the Supported Channel Width Set field are all set to 0, and the first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz, and
wherein when the receiving STA operates in a 2.4 GHz band, the first subfield is present when a first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the first transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 80 MHz or less rather than a non-AP STA operating only at 20 MHz and is allocated to a second transmission bandwidth,

wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the second bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 0, and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0, and the second transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz, and
wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 2.4 GHz band, the second subfield is present when the first bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1, and the second transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the third subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 160 MHz and is allocated to a third transmission bandwidth,

wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the third subfield is present when the third bit of the Supported Channel Width Set field is set to 1 and the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 0, and the third transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the fourth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit and receive in each MCS when the receiving STA is a non-AP STA operating at 320 MHz and is allocated to a fourth transmission bandwidth,

wherein when the receiving STA operates in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, the fourth subfield is present when the Support For 320 MHz In 6 GHz subfield is set to 1, and the fourth transmission bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first subfield includes fifth to twelfth subfields,

wherein the fifth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 7,
wherein the sixth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 7,
wherein the seventh subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 8 to 9,
wherein the eighth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 8 to 9,
wherein the ninth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the tenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the eleventh subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13,
wherein the twelfth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the second to fourth subfields includes the thirteenth to eighteenth subfields,

wherein the thirteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 0 to 9,
wherein the fourteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 0 to 9,
wherein the fifteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the sixteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 10 to 11,
wherein the seventeenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can receive when the MCS is 12 to 13,
wherein the eighteenth subfield includes information on the maximum number of spatial streams that the receiving STA can transmit when the MCS is 12 to 13.

14-16. (canceled)

Patent History
Publication number: 20240224026
Type: Application
Filed: May 27, 2022
Publication Date: Jul 4, 2024
Applicant: LG ELECTRONICS INC. (Seoul)
Inventors: Eunsung PARK (Seoul), Jinyoung CHUN (Seoul), Jinsoo CHOI (Seoul), Dongguk LIM (Seoul)
Application Number: 18/562,776
Classifications
International Classification: H04W 8/22 (20060101); H04L 1/00 (20060101); H04W 84/12 (20060101);